


Between the Shelves

by TheWriter_TheReader



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Bookstore, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 17:59:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14624052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWriter_TheReader/pseuds/TheWriter_TheReader
Summary: Bellamy Blake meets John Murphy at a bookstore.





	Between the Shelves

Bellamy Blake didn’t have many places in his hometown that weren’t overshadowed with memories of his younger sister. For most of his life, he had been made to watch out for her above anything else, and while he loved his sister, he had always silently resented having to give up moments of his life for her. The one place he could go for privacy was a small second-hand bookstore in the middle of town. It stood between a florist and a thrift store, and while there were never many patrons, there was enough there to keep the business from falling under.

Bellamy smiled at the owner as he stepped through the door, the familiar bell ringing above his head as the smell of lavender wafted through the air around him. He tried to go once a week, should his studies and part-time work allow him to, even if he didn’t end up buying anything. There was something comforting about the little shop. Something about it being his and not theirs. He knew it was probably selfish to keep this store to himself, but Octavia had never been that much of a reader, and whenever she asked if she could tag along it was always because she wanted to go to somewhere else as well. There were just days where he needed to himself, and not Octavia Blake’s older brother.

Making his way through the mismatched shelves, Bellamy paused in front of the popular poetry section. He had never been too fond of poetry, other than when he was reading classical texts, but recently had found his interests peeked. He had read a collection his friend recommended on a whim, and when he had come back to the bookstore that week, he had found himself searching the shelves for anything else the author may have written.

Bellamy reached his hand forward and removed one of the larger collections from the shelf, opening the slightly brown pages and scanning over the words written there. It was second-hand, probably a donation, and there were markings from tea or coffee on a few of the pages. It made the book more charming in an odd way.

He turned to walk to the register, only to come crashing into another young man around his age. Grabbing onto his shoulder to steady the stranger in front of him, Bellamy noticed his soft brown hair and how it seemed to sweep just above his shocking blue eyes. He had pale skin that had been tinted pink and was breathing quite heavily, like he had been running somewhere. Bellamy saw that he had a heavy looking messenger bag slung over his shoulders and assumed that he was student of some kind.

“Sorry,” Bellamy apologised as the two caught their balance, “Are you alright?”

The other boy nodded before excusing himself and stepping around Bellamy, stopping in front of the shelf he had moments ago been searching through.

Sparing a quick glance over his shoulder, Bellamy saw the tensions in the boy’s shoulders, the way his fists opened and closed anxiously at his side, and how his eyes scanned the same three shelves with a desperate determination.

“Are you okay?” Bellamy asked before he could stop himself. He knew he would probably be ignored, but years of watching over his stubborn baby sister had made it impossible for him not to pry.

The other boy jumped at the sound of his voice. He turned with wide eyes, gnawing at his bottom lip as he seemed to think for a moment. He cleared his throat, “Do you work here?”

“Me?” Bellamy said, shocked, “No, no. I don’t work here.”

“Oh,” The boy muttered, looking down at his shoes as he scratched at the back of his neck.

Bellamy shifted from foot to foot nervously before he continued, “But – But I’m here a lot. I could probably help you find something if you’re a bit lost?” He suggested carefully. He knew how annoying it could be when people were pushy, like his mother, but he genuinely wanted to help this stranger. They seemed confused. Plus, they were kind of…cute.

“I’m looking for a book for class. We got the reading list at the beginning of the year, but I swear this one wasn’t on it, and now if I don’t have it by tomorrow my teachers going to kick my ass out of the course,” He said quickly, his words coming out in a rush of irritated nervousness, “It’s not my fault if he left one of the primary readings off the damn list, but when I tried to explain what happened he just told me that he’d be docking five percent off my assignment.” He glared at the bookshelf in front of him, as though it were personally responsible for his misfortune, and kept his shaking fists close to his sides.

“Let me guess,” Bellamy said knowingly, “Professor Kane?”

The boy looked shocked, his blue eyes widening again as a small smile blossomed across his lips, “How’d you know?” He said.

Bellamy shrugged, “Same thing happened to me,” He explained, “But I got ten percent knocked off my grade.”

The boy laughed, “Damn. Sorry, man.”

The two of them shared a small laugh before Bellamy pointed back at the shelf and asked, “So what book do you need?”

“Rumi’s _Bridge to the Soul_.” The boy said, “But I can’t find it anywhere. I even tried that thrift shop next door and – well, you know what Kane is like with cheap books.”

“If you aren’t willing to pay full price than you don’t really care about the written word.” Bellamy scoffed as he shook his head before holding up the book in his hand. _Bridge to the Soul_ by Rumi. He handed the book over and smiled, “Here. You need it more than I do.”

“Are you sure?” The boy asked, “I can just order it or something.”

“Take it,” Bellamy insisted, shrugging his shoulders and waving away the other’s offer, “Like I said, you need more than me.”

The boy smiled, making his face light up and seem suddenly younger, his eyes brighter, and held out his hand, “I’m Murphy.”

“Bellamy.” He said as he took Murphy’s hand into his own and tried to ignore the sudden but pleasant shock that seemed to rock through his body when they touched.

Murphy was looking at their hands joined together between them. His eyes were softer, and his lips were parted just enough for Bellamy to notice the pink on the inside of his mouth. He really was beautiful.

“I was wondering, if you’re free, do you – do you want to grab something to eat or…” Bellamy’s voice trailed off as he tried to think of what to say. He had never been the nervous type around someone he found attractive. Normally he was confident, charming, sometimes even arrogant. Which was why he couldn’t understand the fluttering in his stomach when Murphy smiled again, nodding his head and agreeing to Bellamy’s offer.

“I’d like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there!
> 
> Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. I hope you enjoyed it. I know it may seem like a lot to ask, but it would mean a lot to me if you could leave a comment telling me what you think or if noticed something like a typo. I'm just getting back into writing so I'm quite nervous about this, haha!
> 
> Have a lovely day/night (^__^)


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